The press release is below.  For the story that appeared front page in the
                                                      Courier News click here: descendantvisits.pdf.

 Also, the chronology from new Fred Sisser III research: voughtsisser20101.pdf

Christopher Vought Returns to Family Home

On Thursday March 11, 2010, Christopher Vought will finally visit his family’s colonial home, believed to be the most significant Revolutionary era site in Hunterdon County, NJ.  Mr. Vought is the direct descendant and namesake of the Christopher Vought who purchased 285 acres near the Union Iron Works in 1759 and built this impressive stone house on a site now shared with the new Clinton Township Middle School.  The house was placed on New Jersey’s Register of Historic Places in 2007 due to the “wattle and daub” decorative plaster ceilings, the people who lived here and the sometimes violent clashes that took place here in 1776.  The Vought family has not lived here since the farmstead was confiscated by the Patriot government and sold at auction in 1779.  

In the 1770’s Christopher’s son John Vought came of age and took charge of the farm.  As township clerk John Vought presided over township meetings at their neighbor Thomas Jones’ Tavern.  In 1776, Captain Jones was recruiting militia to defend New Jersey’s Patriot government against the anticipated arrival of the British fleet and troops.  In June, shortly after New Jersey’s illegal Congress ordered the arrest of Governor Franklin, John led a mob of two dozen men that harassed and beat Thomas Jones at his Tavern.  This led to arrests and detention in the county jail.  It also marked Christopher and John Vought as leaders of the local Loyalist opposition. 

After stunning defeats that fall in the Battle of New York, Washington’s depleted army retreated across New Jersey and finally escaped across the Delaware in boats collected by Captain Jones and the Hunterdon Militia in December.  That’s when Christopher and John Vought left this stone house, possibly for the last time.  They led about 75 Hunterdon Loyalists to New Brunswick to join the British army.  They served with the New Jersey Volunteers, largest of the uniformed Loyalist units, on Staten Island throughout the war. 

Ultimately, their loyalty cost them everything they’d gained over 20 years:  their now four hundred acre farm, livestock, an excellent barn, tools, furniture and this large stone house.  After the war, they and their families were transported on British ships to Nova Scotia.  In 1792, during Washington’s presidency, John brought his parents and his children back to their 2,000 acre plantation near Albany in these newly United States.  Here John’s son, also named Christopher Vought, grew to manhood and fought against the British in the War of 1812.  

The house that Christopher Vought built was later purchased by the Hunt family, owners of the Red Mill in Clinton.  The house remained in private hands for two centuries until the Clinton Township Board of Education purchased this land for the new middle school.  Placement on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places requires the school district to preserve this house.  A group of concerned residents formed a non-profit public charity to take possession and assume responsibility for the preservation of this vital link to local Revolutionary era history. 

Don Sherblom, president of The Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead which is hosting Chris Vought’s visit to his ancestral home this week, first contacted Mr. Vought by email.  “I found his name on an online roster of men who’d served on a coast guard cutter,” Mr. Sherblom said.  “I knew this family has served in every major conflict since the French and Indian War so I sent an email and forgot all about it.  One morning I was startled; my in box showed an email from Christopher Vought!  ‘Impossible’ flashed through my mind for a second, but of course, it was this Chris Vought, a direct descendant.  Thursday’s visit by a direct descendant of the man who built this house will simulate a homecoming made impossible by war over two centuries ago.” 

“Especially in 1776, the Revolution’s darkest days, the crisis became a civil war of neighbor against neighbor, father against son.  The story of this family and their neighbors brings that experience and New Jersey’s pivotal role in this war to light in a unique way.”  

For more information about the Vought family and this home’s heritage, visit 1759House.org.  You can also become a member or donate to the Vought House non-profit and help us transform this house into a local museum and educational resource. 

Our first meeting in 2010 will be January 14th, 2010. 
(The second Thursday, every second month, at 7pm.)______________________________________________________________________
It’s been a long haul over the past four years and we’ve all shown great determination.
And as a group, we’ve accomplished a lot in just the past six months: 

• We reached a milestone in June with the unanimous school board vote.
• In November, we increased awareness with a successful mailing to the entire township.  See both sides of mailer below.
• We have a new, more dynamic and more complete website at 1759House.org (open for suggestions and critiques - to Adam).
• Further research by our genealogist, Fred Sisser III, funded by the County Cultural and Heritage Commission, has uncovered more about the Vought family’s daily life.
• Adam and I retrieved two doors from a supporter of our project that had been salvaged from the house and restored.  Absolutely beautiful wood and hardware.
• Terri is pursuing 10 Most Endangered status with Preservation NJ.
• My talk and powerpoint presentation at the CTMS assembly was a great success (estimated snooze ratio of 2/100).
• An article in the December CTMS student newspaper asked: The Vought House, What Happens Now? (appearing soon with quotes from Adam  Wengryn and Superintendent Kevin Carroll) (Written by my daughter, Zoe Carpentier.  All’s fair in love and war.)
• The quotes from district educators, which appeared on the mailing, should help us in this year’s request for funding of an 8th grade appropriate booklet for use in classrooms throughout Hunterdon.
• I’m scheduled to address the northern Hunterdon County social studies teachers (sending districts to North and Voorhees High Schools).  I’ll give them a presentation on the Vought House museum and booklet.
• The subdivision plans are done.  A meeting of the Planning or Board of Adjustment could happen in January or February.
• The school board has been reminded -yet again- that they need to start work on the historic preservation easement.  

This year offers even greater challenges/opportunities. This year, The 1759 Vought House nonprofit will finally take possession of the most significant Revolutionary War site in Hunterdon County.  We’ll finally be able to start the arduous tasks of preserving and restoring the house, of transforming it by creating a vibrant local history museum, and we’ll uncover even more traces left by the Vought Family and neighbors like Thomas Jones that can tell us about life in this part of New Jersey in the late colonial and early Republican period, and, essential to the above, we’ll be raising funds to fulfill these goals.

This is year one! It’s a great time to help protect the future of Hunterdon County’s Revolutionary War past.

From: The Vought House Inc.
To: Clinton Township School District
RE: Update on Educational Partnership   

• My talk/presentation in the auditorium to 7th and 8th graders at the Clinton Twp. Middle School went very well - got good feedback from students and teachers. 
•  We have a couple of education-related grants in the works:
• Currently funded research grant:  Genealogical work being done by Fred Sisser III, with Beth Rice and Melissa Mohlman from our group, to discover more about this family, etc.
• Just applied for a grant:  to print a much shorter booklet that would be appropriate for 8th grade students at the CT Middle School and other middle schools throughout Hunterdon County.  Will be working with social studies teachers Robyn Peuss, Leanne Pike to develop an 8th grade appropriate booklet. 
• As a follow up to that, I will be presenting to the North Hunterdon Social Studies teachers when they meet in early December. (power point presentation.  give out booklets.  talk about transforming this into a revolutionary-era museum) 
• Restoration Technologies:  Recent work on the grounds.  Need for a roof repair on the Vought House, to be funded by the owner, the school district.  
• Our mailing to all Clinton Twp. residents re: historic significance of the the Vought House & future as a museum will be in the mail in November.
• Our next steps in preparing for transfer of ownership:  to build membership and volunteer involvement, increase financing, etc.
• Next steps for the school district:  (1) finish NJ application, (2) finish the legal subdivision (over 2-years in the making) (3) write historic preservation easement (get guidelines from New Jersey Historic Trust & write it).

Yours, Don Sherblom

The Christopher Vought House - now has a historic marker!  The Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission sign (below) as seen from Grayrock Road, with the middle school through the trees.  

The new Vought House sign makes it official:  Loyalists were a big part of that conflict we call the American Revolution, especially here in Hunterdon County.  

There were honorable men and women on each side, such as the Vought Family among the Loyalists, and Captain Thomas Jones and Charles Stewart among the Patriots.  It was a civil war, sometimes dividing fathers and sons like New Jersey’s Governor William Franklin and his father Benjamin.  A war fought for the rights of Englishmen, our British American heritage.

This marker is a milestone in promoting greater appreciation of our local history and in the Vought House gaining the recognition it richly deserves as the most significant Revolutionary era site in Hunterdon County.  It’s a sign of big things to come!

Strategy & Coordination: 
Regular Open Meetings of Trustees and Members
Four committees, organized by Tim Johnson, Antje Doyle,
                                                            Brian Mullay, Don Sherblom 
Some immediate tasks are set out below.  
Areas of overlap are indicated by color code.   

 Next Step:  four committee leaders arrange meeting and/or communication to
v  expand on list of tasks set out above
v  prioritize tasks
v  organize for action
v  estimate time-line for completion of each tasks and larger projects

OK - the vast majority of those who voted on a meeting time favored Tuesday or Thursday evening, so our next meeting will  be Thursday July 2nd at 7 pm at RE/MAX Town & Country 44 Leigh Street in Clinton, NJ 08809 (see map).

View Larger Map

Starting July 2 - Our meetings will be the first Thursday of the month at 7 pm.

To prepare, please think about the subcommittee you will serve on and the agenda for that subcommittee.  Here’s what I see as the major divisions of labor:
          (1) House & Grounds: maintain and transform this property, (mothballing, preservation plan & action, make visible changes at house)
          (2) Raise Money: raise funds, seek grants, stabilization funds, private foundations, corporate donations, etc.
          (3) Awareness & Membership: build membership, get the public involved, prepare mailing w/existing HC CHC grant.
          (4) Develop History: pursue genealogy project, research, outreach to historians, National Register and Landmark status.

Vought House Inc. - July 2 @ 7pm - preliminary Agenda 

    1) (re)-introduction of members, bylaws, goals of The 1759 Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead.
    2) Discussion of the Vought House “bubble,” our current needs, next steps, probable time line.
    3) Old business: informational mailing to Clinton Twp. residents, etc.
    4) New business -
    5) Break into subcommittees to set small group agendas and leaders

Any questions or suggestions on agenda items, please email or call (908) 303-8130

Don Sherblom

FOUR Items for the action and consideration of members:  

1) As many of us as can make it will be meeting with the Facilities Committee on November 10, from 7-8 pm at Board Offices, at Round Valley School.  Please mark your calendars and ask me if you need directions or information.

2) The Educational Booklet is (finally) at the printer!  I hope to have copies to distribute at the state-wide biannual history conference (see below).  

3) The 1759 Vought House Inc., just received an invitation to join an effort to get National Landmark Status for period German American Homes. 

The letter is a PDF document:  invitationlandmarkstudy.pdf

Background: the school district has been required to file for State and National Register of Historic Places.  The Vought House was put on the State Register in Sept. 2007 and National Register Status for the ceilings is in process.  National Landmark Status is the highest level of recgnition, only about 3% of National Historic Registry properites.  National Park Service policy is so restrictive that in effect, no individual property can be listed unless it is identified as part of a thematic study such as the one being proposed.  Please give this some thought and post comments below or send an email.

4) The New Jersey Forum, a biannual state history conference is on Sat. November 22. 
My paper on the Vought family:  “Vital History:  What Two Generations of a Loyalist Family Reveals About the American Revolution” is on PANEL 6 Eighteenth-Century New Jersey Families from 2:00 - 3:45 pm (see the bottom of this page). 

The $40. registration fee incudes a Continental breakfast and full lunch.  Here’s the announcement and below that the program:

25th Annual History Conference
New Jersey Forum
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Trenton Marriott

The New Jersey Forum will feature 20 papers and presentations by leading scholars in New Jersey history. Speakers will discuss

the history of public health in the state;

efforts to preserve and protect the state’s historic landscapes;

the development of mature suburbs; and

• the roles of women, families, and slaves during New Jersey’s four centuries of recorded history. 

The morning speaker, Dr. Ian Burrow, will discuss the role of historical archaeology in generating new knowledge of the state’s history.  Our featured luncheon speaker, Dr. Kenneth T. Jackson, the Jacques Barzun Professor of History at Columbia University, will present a talk entitled, “If All the World Were New Jersey: Reflections on the Past and Future of the Garden State.”

This conference is sponsored by the historical divisions of the NJ Department of State: The NJ Historical Commission, the NJ State Archives, and the NJ State Museum. The conference program and registration form are available at:

www.newjerseyhistory.org

PROGRAM:

8:00 Registration, exhibits, continental breakfast

9:00 Morning Program

Welcoming Remarks: Marc Mappen, Executive Director, NJHC

Morning Address: Dr. Ian Burrow, Hunter Research:
Hands-On Our History!  Archaeological History in the Active Voice for New Jerseyans

10:15 – noon: Morning concurrent panels

PANEL 1: Hope, Fear and Pestilence: Public Health in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century New Jersey

Moderator: Karen Reeds, Princeton Research Forum

Newsprint, Fear, and the Cholera: A History of the 1832 Cholera Outbreaks in New Jersey
Margaret Charleroy, University of Minnesota
 
Death Unspoken: The Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in New Jersey
Jennifer Harmsen, Hillsborough Middle School + Rutgers-NJIT History Department

Pestilence Across the Delaware: New Jersey and the Yellow Fever Epidemics of the 1790s
Sandra Moss, New Jersey Medical History Society

PANEL 2: Interpreting a Preserved Landscape: New Jersey Museums and Architecture

Moderator: Ron Emrich, Preservation New Jersey, Trenton

New Solutions for House Museums
Donna Ann Harris, Heritage Consulting, Inc.

Take Any Exit: The Colonial Revival in New Jersey
Harriette Hawkins, independent scholar

Telling the Straight Story: Truth & Fiction in Building Interpretation
Margaret Westfield, Westfield Architects

PANEL 3: Suburban Stories: Place and Race in Twentieth-Century New Jersey

Moderator: Howard Green, Public History Partners

Extremely Suburban: Narratives from 20th-Century Princeton
Michael H. Ebner, James D. Vail III Professor of History, Emeritus, Lake Forest College

African American Suburbanization and Racial Politics in Pre-World War II Montclair
Patricia Hampson, Rutgers University

A National “Black Brain Center” in Post-WWII Fort Monmouth, NJ
Melissa Ziobro, staff historian, U.S. Army **CECOM** Life Cycle Management Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ

12:00 Featured Luncheon Speaker and NJHC Awards – BALLROOM:

Kenneth T. Jackson, Barzun Professor of History at Columbia University:
If All the World Were New Jersey: Reflections on the Past and Future of the Garden State

2:00 – 3:45 Afternoon concurrent panels

PANEL 4: Parks and Bonapartes: Landscapes of 19th and 20th century New Jersey

Moderator:  Peter Mickulas, NJ Historical Commission

“He Will be a Bourgeois American and Spend his Fortune in Making Gardens”: A Preliminary Examination of Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate, Bordentown, New Jersey
Richard Veit, Department of History and Anthropology, Monmouth University

The Development of Branch Brook Park – America’s First County Park
Kathleen P. Galop, Esq., Preservation Possibilities, Summit, NJ

Morristown: A Cultural Landscape Study
Gillian Acheson, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville

PANEL 5: Revolutionary Women: Female Education and Political Activism in Early New Jersey
Moderator: Rhonda DiMascio, Alice Paul Institute, Mt. Laurel, NJ

“A More Accurate and Extensive Education than is Customary”:  Educational Opportunities for Women in Early Nineteenth-Century New Jersey
Lucia McMahon, William Paterson University

The Ladies of Trenton: Women’s Political and Public Activism in Revolutionary New Jersey
Catherine Hudak, Morris Hills High School, Rockaway, NJ

“Working for the Slave as a Mother would Work for her Children”: Abigail Goodwin and the Anti-slavery Movement in New Jersey
Bruce Scherer, Project Archivist/Librarian, Salem County Historical Society, Salem, NJ

PANEL 6: Eighteenth-Century New Jersey Families

Moderator: Maxine Lurie, Department of History, Seton Hall University

From London Publisher to American Farmer:  Benjamin Clarke and his Diary of East New Jersey
Robert Craig, Historic Preservation Office, NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Black and White Together? Slavery and Freedom in Upper Freehold Township from the Colonial Period to the Early Republic
Sue Kozel, Independent scholar

Vital History:  What Two Generations of a Loyalist Family Reveals About the American Revolution
Donald Sherblom, President, 1759 Vought House, Inc.